Cable connection.



No. 70|,208. Patented May 27, |902` C. LUKE.

CABLE CONNECTION.

(Application filed Jan. 16, 1902.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES LUKE, OF MILFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO NEV HAVEN NOVELTYMACHINE COMPANY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

CABLE CONNECTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,208, dated May 27,1902. Application filed January 16, i902. Serial No. 89.942. (No model.)

To a/ZL whom it .may concern,.-

Be it known that I, CHAELEs LUKE, a citizen of the UnitedStates,.residing at Milford, county of New-Haven, State of Connecticut,have invented an 'Improvementin Cable Connections, of which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like characters on the drawings representinglike parts.

Electric cables for underground and overhead work are commonly inclosedin a lead pipe. The length'of a cable and its pipe-covering is alwaysless than the circuit to be supplied with power or light, andconsequently the cables and the lead covering have to be joinedfrequently. In joining this class of cable it is customary to remove thelead pipe at the end of each lengthof cable and remove from theindividual wires its insulation, usually of textile material of somesort, and join electrically together-,the bare wires, and thereafter toprevent moisture enteringthe cable, where joined together or spliced, itis customary to reinclose the part of the cable projecting from beyondthe ends of the lead-pipe covering in a lead jacket, which is wrappedabout the splice and connected with the ends of the lead pipe atopposite sides the splice, the jacket being soldered together and beingunited bya wiped joint to the lead pipe. This operation requires the useof a plumber, and frequently,owing to conditions of the weather, a wipedjoint cannot be made, and the production of a wiped joint in a manholeor in the air, if the cable is elevated, requires a very considerabletime and is effected only at very considerable inconvenience. To obviatethe employment of a plumber and the making of any wiped joints or theuse of molten lead in layinga cable, I have deviseda cable pipeconnection composed of several parts united by screw-threads, said partsbeing applied directly to the ends of the pipe and covering the splicebetween the ends of the pipes of adjacent lengths of cable air and watertight, and by the use of the connections to be herein described greateconomy is effected and even greater security as against the entrance ofwater or moisture to the cable is secured and the connection may beunmade quickly at any time desired.

The connection herein shown is also adapted to enable a cable tobebranched off from the main cable to do work at an outlying substation. Y j

Figure l, in longitudinal section, represents a connection embodying myinvention, the connection having a branch leading therefrom. Fig. 2shows a connection Without a branch. Fig. 3 represents parts of twostrands of wire with their insulation partially removed at their pointsof junction. Fig. .Lis a face view of the part m to show how it isscored.

Referring to the drawings, A B represent, it will be supposed, the endsof two lengths of cable comprising numerous wires, each wrapped in usualinsulation, which may be iibrous material, either cloth or paper, tolprevent contact of one Wire with another and also to exclude moisturefrom the wire.

The entire mass of covered wires is inclosed snugly in lead pipe A B',and let it be supposed that the wires of the two cables are to be unitedto complete a circuit. To do this, the lead pipe is removed from theends of the cable to be joined for a distance of several inches from theend thereof. To join the cables, I first slip over the cableA-connected, let it be supposed, with the power plantand over the leadpipe A', covering the same, a nut c, and then I slip over the same partsthe tubular body d of the connection to be described, and I then in likemanner slip over the said parts the outer clamping member e, pushing allof said parts back to the left, viewing Figs. l and 2, beyond the end ofthe lead pipe. I then insert a portion of a suitable tool between themass of cables and the interior of the lead pipe A at the end thereof,and by movement of said tool iiare outwardly the end of the pipe, asrepresented at 2. This done I slip the inner clamping member f over thewires of the cable and insert its tapered end 3 in the outflared end ofthe lead pipe, and by a suitable wrench or` tool I turn the innerclamping member f so that its external screw-threads, in engagement withthe internal screw-threads at the right-hand end of the outer clampingmember e, which has been drawn to the end of the pipe, will cause theinternal member to be forced into the inner ICO end of the pipe and intothe exterior clamping member until the end ot' the lead pipe is clampedbetween the members e and fwater and air tight.

In case a portion of the wires of the cable A are to be joined with thewires of a cable B and with a branch cable C, I employ au extension D,having, it may be, one or more lateral branches E. In using this branchI slip over the end of the wires ot' the cable B and over the lead-pipecovering B thereof an outer clamping member, as g, thereafter liaringoutwardly, as described, the end of the lead pipe B', and I .pass thebody d and the extension D to the left, that the ends of the wires ofthe cables A and B may be soldered together in usual manner, and thenthe extension D may be moved to the right until the tapered end of theinner coupling member h enters the pipe B, where it is outwardly flared,and I thereafter rotate the extension D, causing its externalscrew-threads, in engagement with the internal screw-threads ot' theclamping member g, to enter the end of the pipe and also the externalclamping member and clamp the end of the pipe B water and air tight.While the body d is yet shoved back to the left from the position, Fig.l, to expose the parts of the wires to be united by solder, I select thewires ot' the cable A that are to be connected electrically with theWires i of the branch cable C and lead the wires t' through the branchE, putting their ends near the ends of the wires of the cable A.Preparatory to leading the wires 1.' into the branch E, I slip over thelead pipe C an outer clamping member It, having an internal thread, andafter turning outwardly or flanging the end of the pipe C', as shown atfn', I draw the wires 'L' of the cable C farther into the branch E anddraw the inner side of the flange n against the scored end m of thetapered end of the inner clamping member m, and thereafter the outerclamping member lo may be turned onto the inner clamping member m to-firmly clamp the pipe C between said clamping members and make awater-tight joint. The clamping member fm, (see Fig. 4) by engaging theinterior of the pipe C at its iianged end holds the pipe firmly whilemember 7i; is being rotated about the pipe C. After this the wires 7lare soldered to the wires of the cable A. Then the body d of theconnection may be moved to the right and the threaded part of the ring abe screwed tightly into the threaded part e' of the extension, making aWater-tight joint. During this movement of the body d the shoulder s onthe ring o, applied, as shown, to the left-hand end of the tubular body,contacts with the outer side of the shoulder 6 of the outer clampingmember e, and thereafter I move the nut c to the right, rotating thesame, said nut by reason of its external screw-threads, in engagementwith the external screw-threads of the outer clamping member c,traveling longitudinally over said outer clamping member until the saidnut meets a shoulder 8 of the outer clamping member and the end 9 of thering o.

I may, if desired, employ any usual packing between any abuttingsurfaces ofthe connection described, and when the parts are thoroughlyscrewed up, as described, the joints made are water and air tight.

It will be obvious that the connection described may be applied quicklyand readily to connect the pipe covering the ends of two or more cablesand without the use of solder, and as the connection is purelymechanical it may be manipulated readily at any point and in any weatherwithout trouble.

Fig. 2 shows a modified form of connection to join the lead-pipecoverings of two cables toy be carried in the same general direction.The :right-hand end of Fig. 2 shows a threaded loose nut p as havingbeen slipped over the cable B and its lead-pipe covering B', andthereafter there is slipped over said parts an outer clamping member r,and the end of the lead pipe is dared outwardly, that the inner taperedend of the inner clamping member s2 when slipped over the cable and itsexternal screw-threads are made to engage the external screw-threads ofthe outer clamping member will enter the pipe end and pinch theoutwardly-flared portion water and air tight between the inner and outerclamping members. The wires of the two cables having been united, I thenmove the tubular body d to the right until its end meets substantiallythe flange t of the outer clamping member, and thereafter I move theloose ring p from its position on the pipe B at the right of the outerclamping member 0' to the left and engage the inner screw-threads ofsaid loose ring with the external screw-threads of the ring n, appliedto the right-hand end of the tubular body d, and thereafter by rotatingthe loose nut p I am enabled to make a water and air tight joint betweenthe body and the exterior clamping-ring.

I believe that I am the irst to make a mechanical joint in which theends of the lead coverings of cables are engaged and held water-tight,the joint including a metallic sleeve the ends or" which iit water-tightthe members of the joint surrounding the cable, and also the first touse a sleeve of the sort in a cable connection, the sleeve having at oneend a branch, that a plurality of cables may be connected with a maincable.

The invention is not limited to the exact device shown by which toconnect the two-part pipe-clamping members to the sleeve or itsextension or branch, and while I in some cases prefer to employ thedevices constructed as shown, yet I might join the clamping membersholding the lead pipes B and C by means of a loose or running nut, asshown at the left-hand end of Fig. 2, or by a loose nut such as commonlyused in hose-coupling, said nut IOO IIO

IZO

turning freely on the outer clamping member and engaging externalscrew-threads on the extension or the branch.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

I. A connection for a pipe-covered cable, comprising a tubular body toinclose the splice, and means at the opposite ends of said body to clampthe inner and outer sides of the pipe-covering water and air tight.

2. In a connection for pipe-covered cable, means to clamp the inner andouter sides of the ends of the lead pipe covering the cable Water andair tight, a tubular body surrounding and connecting said clampingmeans, and a screw-threaded nut to retain said tubular body in positionto cover the splice water and air tight.

3. A connection for covered cable, comprising means to clamp water andair tight the covering for one cable, an extension having a branch,means to connect the covering of two cables water and air tight with oneend of said extension and the branch, and a tubular body coacting withsaid extension and the means employed for clamping the covering ofanother cable, to unite the means clamping the end of the cable waterand air tight with said extension.

4. A connection for pipe-covered cables,

comprising pipe-clamping means composed of two members to embrace theends of the pipe between them, and a sleeve joining said pipe clampingmeans and protecting the spliced wires between the ends of the pipes.

5. A connection for a pipe-covered cable comprising means to clamp theends of the pipe, and a tubular sleeve having an interior diametergreater than the external diameter of the means for clamping the pipewhereby the sleeve maybe slid longitudinally over the pipe-clampingmeans and pipe,

6. In a connection for a plurality of covered cables, metallic collarssurrounding the covering of each cable near :its end, a metallic sleeve,and a connected extension having a branch for the reception of wires ofa cable to be led off laterally from the main cable, and means at theouter end of said sleeve and at one end of the extension and its branchto engage the said collar and complete a watertight joint between thecovering of said cable to protect the junction of the Wires thereof fromWater and moisture.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specilication in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES LUKE.

Witnesses:

HENRY G. THOMPSON, GEO. E. I-IAIGHT.

